


mandrake

by cravatty (averyblue)



Series: accio! (svt x mx hogwarts au) [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, M/M, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Secret Crush, a bit more Mingyu-centric but hey he has a crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 15:53:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15122801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/averyblue/pseuds/cravatty
Summary: Mingyu and Seokmin’s Herbology class had never been this interesting.





	mandrake

**Author's Note:**

> heyo! here's my 1/? fics for minshua fic fest :') tied to my hogwarts au because i'm always trash for hogwarts aus and developing them too much
> 
> seokmin & mingyu - 2nd year hufflepuffs  
> joshua - 4th year ravenclaw
> 
> please go read the other fics of minshua fic fest too!!! <3

 

As much as Mingyu loved Potions, the class that taught about botanical ingredients used for his favorite subject was another story. Herbology wasn’t his forte nor was it a subject he looked forward to ever since his arm got caught in a pot of Devil’s Snare by accident last year. It wasn’t the best memory a first year could make in Hogwarts, and yet it was the first of many incidents Mingyu had in Herbology class. Aside from the Devil’s Snare mishap, he had also been bitten by a Bowtruckle, smacked on the face by a Bouncing Bulb, and almost poisoned by a pesky Venomous Tentacula.

He hoped that his newfound life as a second year in Hogwarts would wash away the shameful disasters he had in Herbology. While Seokmin wasn’t any better at the subject (he almost burned all the Moly plants while practicing Charms in class once), at least he wasn’t mortal enemies with Bobby the Bowtruckle. He also found comfort with having Herbology without Minghao, knowing his Gryffindor friend would constantly send him disapproving looks from secondhand embarrassment if they were in the same class. Hearing Seokmin’s stories alone frustrated the Minghao already, and Mingyu would never be ready to have Minghao see him screw up in the flesh.

“You know, Minghao said he’d give us a box of Chocolate Frogs if you don’t mess up today,” Seokmin hummed as they stopped in front of Greenhouse Three, unfolding his light brown Herbology cloak. “We have to wear these before going in, right?”

Mingyu scowled while pulling his arm through his cloak’s sleeve. “You and Minghao made a bet about me?”

Seokmin flashed an apologetic grin, ears pinkish. “Didn’t mean to, Gyu, but… you know… Chocolate Frogs for us, right? It was supposed to be just with me, but I said I’m going to share the victory with you.”

“If I didn’t like them so much, I would have smacked you,” Mingyu retorted, sighing in defeat. He couldn’t blame Seokmin anyway. If Minghao made the wager with him instead, he would probably even have the prize doubled.

“Come on, Mingyu. We’re second years now! And this is just our first day in Herbology!” the other boy exclaimed, hugging Mingyu on his side. “As if we’d get thrown into lessons right away!”

“But we missed a week of lessons because the professor was still on holiday,” Mingyu reasoned. “He might make us do something today.”

“If he does, it should be easy,” Seokmin replied with a reassuring smile. “I mean, remembering last year’s fiasco with the Ravenclaw guys, I think the professor realized we need to start off easy.”

Mingyu nodded and smiled at his friend. Seokmin had faith in him, it was enough to build his self-esteem. And he remembered the words of his older friend, Joshua, “They’re just plants, Mingyu, don’t be scared,” and that seemed to ease his thoughts even more.

They entered the Greenhouse together, spotting Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs at the far end of the greenhouse observing a short tree with more branches than leaves. They must be looking at the Bowtruckles, Mingyu realized. No way was he going near them, then.

And it was strange for him that they decided to focus on Bowtruckles as though there wasn’t an elephant in the room – or rather, dozens of pots in the middle of the room covering the greenhouse table entirely. But upon closer inspection, the pots carried normal leaves. No movement, no thorns, no sound. They glowed in health, with the brightest forest green hues Mingyu had ever seen.

The box of Chocolate Frogs would be in their arms soon enough.

Seokmin thought the same thing with the way he wiggled his eyebrows when his eyes met Mingyu’s, his wide grin full of mirth and excitement as he nudged Mingyu on the rib.

The door behind them swished open, their Herbology professor walking in. Mingyu and Seokmin scrambled to the middle of the room, bumping shoulders with other rushing students. After brief introductions (which wasn’t really much, since they still had the same professor as last year), the entire class watched their professor shoot his hands in leather-like mud-brown gloves.

“We’re actually going to do something today?” Mingyu wheezed softly, brows knitting together.

Seokmin turned to him and gave a small smile. “Hopefully nothing too hard.”

Their professor cleared his throat loudly, catching everyone’s attention and carried one pot from the greenhouse table. “Today, we’re going to learn how to re-pot Mandrakes,” he announced, placing the plant’s pot on a smaller table with an empty pot on top.

Seokmin’s smile fell. “Oh Merlin, we’re going to handle Mandrakes?!”

“Best be familiar with the plant before using them for Potions, Mr. Lee. I’ve heard you’re going to brew a potion with it this year,” their professor said, flashing a smug smile. Seokmin nodded and shrank from his spot, rushing behind Mingyu.

“What’s a Mandrake?” Mingyu asked.

Seokmin began scratching the back of his head. “A plant I hate.”

Their professor pulled the wheeled blackboard closer and waved his wand, bringing two lifeless pieces of chalk into sentience. Another wave of his wand and the chalk began drawing what seemed to be a very ugly, wrinkly human baby with leaves on its head and a mix of brown and green color on its skin.

“This,” he pointed to the chalkboard with the unfinished drawing, “is a Mandrake, obviously. Pretty useful plants, but also dangerous. The root is lethal when it begins shrieking. A young root’s cry would only knock out a wizard for a few hours, but a mature root’s cry would kill.”

Mingyu stared at the potted plants, feeling his stomach perform somersaults in anxiety. How could their professor make twelve year-olds work with these plants?

“Re-potting them is a pretty important skill, and it’s simpler than it looks. All you have to do is grasp the plant near its root, pull firmly, and place in the next pot. Sprinkle the Mandrake with soil afterwards. Remember, pull firmly and quickly, we need the whole plant and not just a measly leaf stem. Now please wear your earmuffs and gloves provided on the table.”

Mingyu patted his earmuffs to be extra sure he had them on. There was no way he’d get knocked out by a crying plant.

He watched as their professor firmly grasped the base of the plant and pulled sharply, revealing the wrinkly, humanoid-like root. He could hear a high-pitched screech, luckily muffled by the earmuffs, as the Mandrake root’s mouth opened and quivered, just like a real baby’s. Their professor gently placed the Mandrake on the empty pot and showered the root with soil until the shrieks faded from earshot.

“Now try it yourselves! Place your Mandrakes on the pot behind, soil bags on the shelf!” their professor said (or rather, yelled, since they were still wearing earmuffs). Seokmin sighed, looking disappointed, and glared at his Mandrake pot.

Mingyu was still, watching most of the Ravenclaws do it like it was picking a flower from a field. But instead of a beautiful flower, they were snatching out hideous shrieking plants. He took a deep breath, resolving to do this without messing up.

_Think of the Chocolate Frogs, Gyu._

He stepped closer to the greenhouse table, staring at the leafy part of the Mandrake, before grasping it. He could barely hold back broken cries of horror as he felt the plant actually stirring under his hold. Looking back at the other students, he finally saw them – _even the Ravenclaws!_ – struggling to move their Mandrake because of their chubby swishing arms. One of the boys nearby dropped his Mandrake and a girl was clutching her Mandrake with both her hands. Beside him, Seokmin had accidentally torn out two leaves from his still-potted Mandrake. With how wide his mouth was open, Seokmin was probably screaming as loudly as the Mandrakes in frustration.

Mingyu looked back at his Mandrake, pressing his lips together and shutting his eyes as he pulled with all the strength he could muster.

He could hear his Mandrake shrieking loudly, deafeningly, so close to his ears. He opened his eyes, seeing the wrinkly root up close, with eye-like structures narrowed, mouth wide open and dry, almost resembling a crying baby’s expression. It began flailing its arms around, making its leafy stem slowly slip down from his hold. Mingyu gripped the Mandrake tighter, and to his horror, the Mandrake started swinging, as though it knew it would eventually escape Mingyu if it wiggled enough. Mingyu grabbed his Mandrake with his other hand, but failed to notice he placed his hand over its mouth.

A sharp clamp clinched around his pointer finger, and Mingyu howled in pain as he watched the Mandrake continue biting him. _Ithurtsithurtsithurtsithurts!!!_ He tried shaking his hand out of the bite, but the Mandrake’s mouth compressed his finger even more. He could hear his professor’s voice but can’t make out what he’s saying. He could see Seokmin’s hand around his Mandrake, trying to help him. He could hear loud gasps and screams, but all Mingyu could focus on was the sheer sting of the Mandrake’s bite. On impulse, he took out his wand from his sleeve with his free hand and whipped it in front of the Mandrake.

A loud explosion rang through the entire greenhouse. The pressure on his finger was gone, but he felt something damp on his face. Opening his eyes, he could see everyone staring at him and Seokmin.

Seokmin, who was covered in what looked like brown goo.

Seokmin, who wasn’t holding the Mandrake anymore.

Mingyu, who was also covered in the brown goo.

Mingyu, who made the Mandrake explode.

His finger hurt so much and his head was spinning. Seokmin regained his composure and stared back at Mingyu with wide, worried eyes. He didn’t move from his spot as their professor made everyone else leave the greenhouse. Aghast, Mingyu’s thoughts were completely blank as he stared around, seeing parts of the greenhouse window behind him and Seokmin covered in mushy Mandrake remains. He could hear their professor telling Seokmin to leave too, but Seokmin insisted he needed to be with Mingyu.

“I can’t leave Mingyu, Professor!” Seokmin exclaimed. “He isn’t okay!”

Their professor knelt down and placed his hands on Mingyu’s shoulders. “Mr. Kim, say something.”

Nothing came out of Mingyu’s mouth. Nothing was in Mingyu’s mind.

“Mingyu, please, say something,” he said, wiping the grime on Mingyu’s face.

His hands began shaking and his vision became blurry. Mingyu still couldn’t believe he made a Mandrake explode.

He burst into tears.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

 

* * *

 

Mingyu was told to stay in the Hospital Wing to “treat his wounded finger”, but he knew their Herbology professor was catering to Mingyu’s fragile state. He wasn’t in trouble and no points were taken from his house, but surely he would be remembered now as Herbology’s hapless Hufflepuff. Their professor said this activity was simpler than it looks, but Mingyu couldn’t manage to do it. He would understand if Bobby the Bowtruckle would taunt him tomorrow.

“I’ll be back to tell you about our homework, okay?” Seokmin said. He nudged Mingyu’s shoulder lightly after receiving no responses. “Cheer up, Gyu. Please?”

Mingyu exhaled and glanced at his friend. “I screwed up bigtime, Seokmin,” he croaked. He brushed his sleeve against his eyes before tears stained his cheeks. “I’m probably the laughingstock of Hogwarts now.”

Seokmin clasped his hands together. “Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I think what you did was impressive.”

“That’s because you hate Mandrakes,” Mingyu said, the corner of his lips curling upwards. “That’s not how others feel, though.”

“Forget how others feel,” Seokmin groaned. “What I saw earlier was you blowing up the most annoying plant on Earth with wordless magic. I think that’s cool.”

Mingyu gave him a weak smile. “Thanks for the pep talk, Seokmin.”

Seokmin saluted him with his trademark sunny smile. “Anytime. Get some sleep to clear your mind, okay? See you later!”

Mingyu watched his friend leave before resting his back on the infirmary bed. A nap was a good idea.

 

* * *

 

“Did you hear about what happened in Greenhouse Three?”

Joshua raised his head and quickened his walking pace. He had heard talks and whispers about Greenhouse Three for hours now, and he knew it was time to cave into his curiosity. As much as he didn’t want it to bother him, the issue was stuck with him like an itch. Nothing interesting had happened in Herbology classes for the longest time to garner this kind of attention.

“Heard the second years talking about it, yeah. Didn’t get the details but it was bad enough to cancel all Herbology classes for today.”

He blinked. Second years, huh? If that was the case, he could always ask Mingyu about it. It was dinnertime, after all, and his younger friend should just be a table away.

But once he entered the Great Hall, there was no Mingyu in sight. No Mingyu to wave at him or greet him.

He was pretty sure Mingyu wouldn’t skip dinner, knowing the boy’s appetite, so he decided to eat dinner first to pass the time. Glancing at the Gryffindor table, he saw Seungcheol talking to Soonyoung, while Jeonghan was busy eating with other Slytherins. It seemed like they weren’t going to hang out together after dinner either. Ample time to talk to Mingyu, then.

He took a seat across Jihoon, who was perusing through an Arithmancy textbook while munching down hash browns. Wonwoo, who usually sat beside Jihoon, was seated at the other edge of the table with Junhui. He was sure Wonwoo had another friend (Daniel? Or Chang-something? He wasn’t sure), but he hadn’t seen that boy for the entire first week of classes. It wasn’t his business to pry, but he was still curious.

Jihoon acknowledged Joshua with a nod before they both ate in silence. Joshua still couldn’t get his mind off of Mingyu’s absence. From time to time, he would glance at the Great Hall doors, hoping to see Mingyu enter, but the boy was still missing. By the time he was eating Treacle Tarts with Mingyu still out of sight, he knew something was wrong. Mingyu never missed dinner, let alone dinner with Treacle Tarts.

After finishing his meal, he walked up to a laughing Seokmin. He could hear jokes about Mandrakes, but Joshua couldn’t bother to take notice due to his concern over Mingyu.

“Seokmin?”

The boy spun around in his seat and grinned. “Hi, Joshua! What’s up?”

“Nothing much, really. I was just curious why Mingyu’s not here,” Joshua replied.

Seokmin’s expression slowly turned serious. “Uh… you wanna talk to him?”

Joshua’s brows furrowed together. “D-Did something happen to him?”

Seokmin shook his head rabidly. “No, no, nothing really bad.” He paused, glancing upwards then back at Joshua. “Actually, I think you should talk to him.”

“W-wait, what happened to him?” Joshua asked, placing a hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeats thump with more force underneath his chest. “Where is he?”

 

* * *

 

Staying in the Hospital Wing wasn’t so bad, Mingyu realized. The infirmary bed was so comfortable that Mingyu was able to take two naps. It would have been a long one if not for Seokmin and Minghao dropping by at the middle of the afternoon, both bearing news and a box of Chocolate Frogs.

“You screwed up big time, so I think you need this even more,” Minghao had said earlier as he handed over the box.

They had mostly told them about how the news spread throughout their year, how most of their fellow second years were amazed at Mingyu’s feat. Seokmin had said that Ravenclaws and other Hufflepuffs were thankful because they couldn’t stand another minute trying to hold those _bloody crinkly_ plant babies, while Minghao had said that the Gryffindors and Slytherins were relieved they had one less class to attend today. Of course, there were still laughter and jokes exchanged, but Seokmin had assured him that most were good-natured.

Afterwards, Minghao and Seokmin had proceeded to brainstorm for Mingyu’s nickname. He tried yelling at them when they suggested ridiculous things such as _Mingyu, Mandrake Murderer_ or _Mingyu the Mandrake Slayer_. Ultimately, they had both decided on _Mingyu, Destroyer of Mandrakes_ , and they had blocked out all of Mingyu’s protests from their hearing.

After the healer had shooed them out (“The day is still young! You both have classes I’m sure!” she had said shrilly), Mingyu had fallen asleep after eating three Chocolate Frogs and fixing his new Chocolate Frog Cards.

And he was woken up just a few minutes ago by the healer. He noticed a tray of food on the bedside table, his dinner complete with Treacle Tarts for dessert.

“I only allowed your extended stay here for the professor’s request. However, please return to your common room after finishing your dinner,” the healer told him. Mingyu nodded in reply as he chewed down his food, knowing fully well his stay wasn’t supposed to happen at all.

He immediately finished his food and watched the healer’s house-elf aid snap its fingers, blinking the tray out of sight. He waved at the house-elf sheepishly and thanked the healer before leaving the Hospital Wing. He hoped no one in his year would approach him about the topic if they saw him.

His footsteps echoed as he walked alone in the corridor, but a new pair of steps emerged, getting louder and closer from the other end of the corridor. A boy in Ravenclaw robes was running towards him, cat cradled in his arms, and Mingyu’s heart skipped a beat.

“Mingyu!” called Joshua. Mingyu’s cheeks began to burn.

He paused in his steps, watching the older boy approach him. Joshua’s expression looked anything but calm. He probably had noticed Mingyu was absent from dinner.

His heart skipped a beat again.  

“Mingyu,” Joshua repeated, now panting from shallow breaths. The cat in his arms, pastel-furred Dorito, tried reaching Mingyu by stretching out a paw. “Mingyu, you’re okay.”

Joshua’s eyes quickly glanced at Mingyu’s bandaged finger. He probably knew what happened, since no one would try looking at the Hospital Wing first. Mingyu may be clumsy, but this was his first time staying in the Hospital Wing.

“Seokmin told me that you were here,” Joshua continued. Mingyu’s expression must have given his thoughts away. “And I wanted to check up on you.”

Mingyu sighed, putting his hands together. “I’m okay, Joshua. Just an accident.”

Joshua raised an eyebrow, and Dorito gave a loud meow. Both of them knew he was lying.

“An accident Seokmin won’t tell me?” Joshua retorted. His voice was calm but firm and full of urgency. He bowed his head in shame, knowing he can’t hide anything from Joshua. The boy was in Ravenclaw for a reason – always level-headed and perceptive towards Mingyu’s antics.

The cat in Joshua’s arms meowed again, this time louder. Dorito was probably agreeing with his owner’s claims.

He exhaled. “Um… can we talk somewhere else?” Mingyu whispered, fiddling his thumbs together. He anxiously raised his head, meeting Joshua’s concerned stare.

“Of course,” Joshua replied immediately. Dorito meowed once more and began trying to reach Mingyu again.

Joshua gave Mingyu a warm smile. “He wants you to carry him.”

The cat was passed to him, Joshua’s hands brushing Mingyu’s. The older boy’s smile didn’t waver from his face. “Come on now.”

He took a deep breath and watched Joshua walk ahead first. He felt Dorito’s paws patting his chest, and Mingyu gulped. He didn’t know how to feel with the fact that he had to tell the boy he has a crush on about the disaster he caused today.

 

* * *

 

“Really, Joshua? The Astronomy Tower?!” Mingyu shrieked, staring at the starry blanket above. He turned to the older Ravenclaw, who was closing the tower door gently.

“Well, you looked desperate to avoid talking about it with people around,” Joshua replied, chuckling softly as he sat on the stone floor cross-legged. He patted the space beside him, and wide-eyed Mingyu wished his cheeks weren’t flushed a deep red.

He sat beside Joshua and stretched his legs, letting Dorito walk free from his cradled arms. The cat began walking around the tower’s wide space. Mingyu didn’t know if this was the cat’s first time on top of the tower.

Joshua cleared his throat. “I’m assuming this has something to do with Herbology.”

Mingyu felt the tips of his ears heat up. Did Joshua already know everything but was pretending not to for Mingyu’s sake? “Do you know what happened?”

Joshua glanced at Mingyu and shook his head. “No. I was too busy writing an essay in the library for me to eavesdrop. I thought to ask you during dinnertime. You didn’t show up, and I became concerned.”

Mingyu had no words to say, but Joshua had more. “Were you able to eat dinner?” he added, voice kinder.

“Yes,” Mingyu affirmed, trying to ignore his giddy thoughts of Joshua’s concern.

“Treacle Tarts?”

“Yes,” Mingyu laughed softly.

Joshua grinned. “Good.”

Five seconds passed with Mingyu still thinking how he’d begin explaining this morning’s disaster. Should he tell Joshua immediately that he made a Mandrake blow up or should he start from the top?

“You had a couple of… troubles with Herbology last year, didn’t you?” Joshua began. Of course he would remember – Mingyu had whined to Joshua about Bobby the Bowtruckle several times.

“I thought today would be a fresh start,” Mingyu huffed, pouting. “Earlier we were supposed to re-pot Mandrakes.”

Joshua groaned. “Oh, Merlin. I hated that exercise. My Mandrake almost bit me.”

“It bit me,” Mingyu sighed.

“Nothing to be ashamed of,” Joshua quickly said, rubbing Mingyu’s back with care. “You know Seungcheol, right? He threw his Mandrake at my friend Jeonghan because Jeonghan was laughing at him for getting bitten.”

Mingyu smirked, but it quickly fell. “At least he just threw his Mandrake.”

“At someone else’s face, which is disgusting. I doubt anything would be worse than that. Well, maybe except for blowing it up or making someone else faint,” Joshua said, snorting loudly afterwards.

He remained silent, crestfallen. Joshua was laughing at the idea. Joshua would laugh at him.

The older boy’s laughter faded after a few seconds, noticing Mingyu’s silence, and his eyes widened in surprise. “That was insensitive of me to laugh. D-Did you faint, Mingyu?”

Mingyu shook his head, curling his knees up and pulling them closer to his chest. “No. I wish I did that instead.”

“So…”

“I made one explode…” Mingyu hiccupped, and tears began forming in his eyes again. He couldn’t look at Joshua now.

But Joshua’s hand kept stroking his back, getting slower and slower. He could feel Joshua scoot closer to him, pulling him closer and into a side hug. Mingyu blinked in surprise, breaking the tears’ inertia on his eyelashes, feeling them draw damp lines on his cheek. He raised his head again and rubbed the tears before Joshua could see, but his sniffling gave him away.

“I-I was shocked,” Mingyu continued, cursing mentally for his cracking voice. “I was panicking, it bit me and it hurts and I just drew out my wand, and, and I’ll be the butt of everyone’s jokes!”

“Shh, shh, don’t think of that,” Joshua said. “You were surprised, it’s not your fault.”

Mingyu’s lips quivered as he stared at Joshua. “B-but I k-killed a living thing! It’s not like, like killing a cockroach, you know?”

“Mandrakes are plants, Mingyu. They have to get… sliced up eventually for Potions,” the older boy said, giving him a small smile. “Don’t worry too much about it.”

Mingyu exhaled. “It’s still super embarrassing,” he whined. “Minghao and Seokmin even have a nickname for me now.”

Joshua’s eyes lit up in interest. “Oh, really?”

“You’ll laugh.”

“Will not,” Joshua said.

“Will to,” Mingyu pouted.

Joshua smirked and pinched Mingyu’s cheek lightly. “Will not. Now tell me.”

“Mingyu, Destroyer of Mandrakes,” he sighed. The corner of Joshua’s lip was trembling to curl upwards. “See! You were going to laugh!”

“But I didn’t,” Joshua said in a singsong voice. “See. Did not.”

“I wish I didn’t tell you,” Mingyu grumbled, crossing his arms. Joshua pinched his cheek again.

“But you did,” Joshua sang, grinning.

There was something contagious about Joshua’s toothy beam, because slowly, Mingyu’s scowl transformed into a small smile. “What should I do if people laugh at me?”

Joshua rolled his eyes. “Don’t care. Everyone makes mistakes here in Hogwarts. Blowing up a Mandrake isn’t the worst.” He paused. “But it is the first time I’ve heard of it happen in Hogwarts.”

Mingyu buried his face in his palms. “So the nickname will really stick to me.”

“You should be proud!” Joshua laughed, clapping his hands. “I’m pretty sure this has happened before to another herbologist. Everyone blows up a plant every now and then, you know. I made a Bouncing Bulb explode before.”

“But that’s not as big as a Mandrake now, is it?” Mingyu retorted, pouting.

Joshua was still grinning. “Heh. Well, you’re a pretty unique case, Mingyu. Or, should I say, Mingyu, Destroyer of Mandrakes.”

Mingyu swatted Joshua with his hand, pouting miserably as Joshua stumbled backwards while laughing loudly. The older boy would surely tease him casually now, but the thought didn’t bother Mingyu at all. His heart felt lighter. Maybe because it was Joshua who comforted him. Maybe because he realized how his friends considered it an achievement.

Joshua was still laughing, and Mingyu smiled to himself. He found Dorito staring at the both of them at the edge of the tower.

 

* * *

 

As expected, news had definitely reached students from the higher years. Joshua and Mingyu ran back inside the castle before the clock struck nine, and he noticed some people stare at him. A Slytherin with pink hair narrowed his eyes at the sight of Mingyu, and two taller students (one Ravenclaw and one Gryffindor) whispered, “Isn’t that the second year who blew up the Mandrake?” to each other. Much to Mingyu’s horror, a Ravenclaw third year who knew him very well started cackling loudly when he saw Mingyu.

“I didn’t know Jihoon could laugh that loudly,” Joshua mused, chuckling. He noticed Mingyu stare at the floor, and he gently squeezed Mingyu’s wrist. “Don’t mind him, Mingyu.”

He nodded and tried his best to stop feeling down. After all, this was Jihoon’s payback for the time Mingyu and Seokmin burned his eyebrows.

After Joshua walked Mingyu to the Hufflepuff common room, everyone stared at him as he walked through the doors. He nervously smiled before fleeing to their dormitory’s direction, only for his robe’s hood to be snagged by someone.

“Hey, hey, hey, where have you been?!” asked Jooheon, his fifth year friend and one of their Quidditch team’s Beaters. “I heard you blew up a Mandrake!”

Mingyu bowed his head in shame. “You must find it funny, huh?”

Jooheon nodded, smiling so widely that his dimples were revealed. “Y’know, that’s awesome! Wish I did that before. I tried to! But the professor saw me and I kinda lost twenty house points that day for stepping on five Bowtruckles. Didn’t mean to though, honest!”

Suddenly, Seokmin and a shorter boy ran up to them. The shorter boy stared at Mingyu in awe. Mingyu noticed Seokmin’s smug expression, and this could only mean trouble.

“Is it true? Are you the Destroyer of Mandrakes?” the boy asked. Mingyu’s eyes widened in surprise and stared at Seokmin. “I know what they are, by the way. I’m a Half-blood!”

Jooheon burst out laughing, catching the attention of everyone else in the common room. Seokmin placed an arm around the boy’s shoulders and walked away, sending Mingyu an apologetic grin. “Seungkwan, I told you to keep it a secret…”

“But everyone knows it!” Seungkwan hollered. “My friend Vernon thinks it’s really amazing too!”

“I meant the nickname,” Seokmin said.

Knowing Seokmin, everyone in Hufflepuff would probably call him that starting today.

The next day, he found out everyone in Hogwarts knew him as the Destroyer of Mandrakes. And Joshua may or may have not had a hand in it.

“Don’t worry too much,” Joshua snorted. “It makes you sound like an epic hero.”

Yep, he _definitely_ had a hand in it.


End file.
